Machine for boring and trimming tubular stereotype-plates.



T. R. G. PARKER & W. E. BENNISON. MACHINE FOR BORING AND TRIMMING TUBULAR STEREOTYPE PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. 1913. 7

1,173.21 8. Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET l.

T. G. PARKER & W. E. BENNISON. MACHINE FOR BORING AND TRIMMING TUBULAR STEREOTYPE PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5, 1913.

1,173,21 3. Patented Feb.29,1916.

4 SHEETS SHEET 2.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAIII c0, \vAsmNnTnN. 1). c.

. T. R. G. PARKER & W. E. BENNISON. MACHINE FOR BORING AND TRIMMING TUBULAR STEREOTYYPE PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-5.1913.

1,173,213. Patented Feb. 29,1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- I-II COLUNKHA PLANOGRAPH :0., WASHINGTON, D. c.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-5,1913.

Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

THE COLUMBIA PLAQIQGRAPH co., WASHINGTON. D4 c.

" FIQ,

THOMAS RIJIBERT GILLET'I PARKER AND WILLIAM EDWARD BENNISON, 0F BROAD- I-IEATII, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO DUPLEX PRINTING PRESS COMPANY, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN. I

MACHINE FOR BORING- AND TRIMMING TUBULAR STEREOTYPE-PLATES'.

Application filed March 5, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THoMas ROBERT GIL- LETT PARKER and WILLIAM EDWARD BENM- son, subjects of the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at Linotype and Machinery Works, Broadheath, in the county of Chester, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Boring and Trimming Tubular Stereotype-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for boring and trimming tubular stereotype plates and has for a principal object, improved adjustable stop devices for arresting the plate, when the latter is being inserted into the boring cylinder of the machine, in the proper position for trimming and removal of the riser, according to the particular length of such tubular plate, such length varying with the number of columns on the said plate; a further object of the invention is to provide means for supporting the stereotype plate at the entrance and exit end of the boring cylinder and thereby facilitating the insertion of the said plate into,

. and its removal from, the boring cylinder.

In existing machines for boring and trimming tubular stereotype plates, there have already been provided longitudinally movable ejector bars which serve as stops to determine the position in the boring cylinder, of stereotype plates all of the same length and to push the stereotype plates out of the boring cylinder, and, according to the present invention, these ejector bars are provided with means whereby they can be read il-y adjusted for determining the longitudinal position in the boring cylinder, of stereotype plates of different lengths, these bars also serving as ordinarily, to push the plates out of the boring cylinders (after the boring and trimming operations have been completed) into such position as will enable them to be readily grasped by the operator for removal from the machines.

In the accompanying drawings which are to be taken as part of this specification and read therewith :-Figure 1 is a plan of sufficient of a boring and trimming machine to illustrate one arrangement of the present improvements; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a part of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an elevation as seen from the right-hand end of Fig. 1 with Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

Serial No. 752,246.

parts omitted; Fig. 4 is a plan and Fig. 5 a side elevation showing other features of the invention, and Figs. 6 and '7 are end elevations, Fig. 8 a plan, and Fig. 9 an end elevation showing different alternative arrangements according to this invention.

1 is the before-mentioned longitudinally movable ejector bar which, in accordance wlth the present invention, is utilized for determining the longitudinal position of the stereotype plates within the boring cylinder 2, and which, for that purpose, is provided with a plurality of notches corresponding in number with the different numbers of lengths of stereotype plates to be dealt with in the machine; in the example represented, this number is three and the three notches involved are numbered respectively 3, i and 5, The notches 3, 4: and 5 are situated at distances apart corresponding with the differences in length of the stereotype plates.

The ejector bar 1 is, as ordinarily, longitudinall y slidable in two bearings 6, 7 wherein it is retained by suitable cover plates bolted to the said bearings; longitudinal motion is imparted to it by means of a hand lever 8 pivoted upon a fixed stud 9' and connected with the ejector bar 1 through a link 10 pivoted to it and to that bar. Upon the top of the block on which is formed the bearing 7 there is pivoted a pawl or detent 11 acted upon by a tension spring 12 which tends always to press the operative end of the detent against, or into engagement with, the ejector bar 1. The detent is provided with a handle 13 and at its engaging end, it is of a greater thickness, that is to say in its vertical dimension, than is the ejector bar 1, for a purpose next to be described. 011 the top of the ejector bar 1 is adjustably secured, as by a bolt and slotted connection 1&, a notched cover plate 15 which, after loosening the just named bolt, can be adjusted to any desired position on the ejector bar 1 and subsequently clamped thereon by again tightening the bolt. The cover plate 15 is provided with as many notches as is the ejector bar 1, that is, in the example illustrated, three, these notches being respectively indicated by the reference numerals 16, 17 and 18. The distances between the notches 16, '17 and '18 and the distances between thecorresponding -notches"3,,l and?) in the ejector bar 1, are different so that only one notch 16 or 17 or 18 of the cover plate 15, andoiie notch 3 or 1 or 5 of the ejector bar 1 can be brought into coincidence with each other at the same time, and only those notches which are sovbrought into coincidence can, for the time being, be engaged by the aforesaid detent 11, the latter at that time, being prevented from entering the other notch or notches of the ejector bar 1 owing to the cover plate at that time not presenting such other notches in coincidence with the corresponding notches of the said ejector bar. Thus, it will be seen that when the notch 16 of the cover plate is in coincidence with the notch 3 of the ejector bar 1, neither of the notches 17 and 18 will be in coincidence with its respective ejector bar notch 4 and 5; this condition of adjustment is that in which the apparatus is shown in the accompanying drawings. It will therefore be understood that when, say, the notch 18 is required to be brought into coincidence with the corresponding ejector bar notch 5, the bolt 14 must be loosened and the cover plate 15 moved rightward along the ejector bar until the said two notches 18 and 5 are brought into coincidence and then the bolt 14: is again tightened to retain the COV r plate 15 on the ejector bar 1 in the position thus arrived at. This condition of adjustment would be that which would be necessary before placing in the machine the shortest stereotype plate 19 (Figs. 6, 7 and 9) which it is adapted to operate upon; if, instead of this shortest stereotype plate, a

' plate of intermediate length were required to be placed inthe machine for boring and trimming, then the cover plate 15 would be adjusted on the ejector barl into such position that its notch 17 would coincide with the ejector. bar notch i.

The detent 11, by engaging with, say, the then coinciding notches 3, 1c of the ejector bar 1 and cover plate 15 respectively, serves to hold the ejector bar in the position necessary to stop the stereotype plate while it is being inserted into the boring cylinder 2 preparatory to its being bored, in the position appropriate to the length of the said plate, and when, after the completion of i the boring and trimming operations, it is desired to remove the plate from the said boring cylinder, the detent 11 is disengaged from the said notches byv moving the handle 13 leftward, and the ejector bar 1, by

. the aforesaid lever 8, is moved longitudito be grasped and withdrawn by the operator. To retain the detent 11 out of contact with the ejector bar l'while the latter is being moved forixejecting the ,stereotype plate 19, there is preferably provided a spring controlled catch 20 which, when the detent 11 is being disengaged from the respective notches, for example 3 and 16 in the ejector bar 1 and cover plate 15, is forced upward vby its spring 21 into the return path of the detent and thereby, for the time being, holds the latter in its retracted position.

For the purpose of releasing the detent 11 so that it can again engage with the respective notches when the ejector bar 1 is returned to its normal orplate-stopping position, the said ejector bar 1 has fast to it a cam 22, Fig. 2, which, toward the end of the ejecting movement of the ejector bar, engages with the upper end of the catch 20, which end is preferably inclined, as shown in Fig. 2, and thereby depresses the catch out of the return path of the detent which thereupon, under the action of its spring 12, has its engaging end drawn into contact with the cover plate 15 and ejector bar 1 in position and ready to engage with the respective notches say, 3 and 16' when these latter, by the longitudinal movement of 15 and 1, are presented to it. The spring catch 20 is prevented from leaving the block 23 wherein it is vertically slidable by a collar 24 fast thereto and over which is situated a disk or plate 25 secured to the block 23.

For the purpose of supporting and facilitating the insertion and removal of the tubular stereotype plates into and from the boring cylinder 2 there are provided one or more pairs of coaxial rollers 26, of such material, preferably leather, as will not mark or damage the printing face of the stereotype plate brought into contact therewith, these rollers being located adjacent to that end of the boring cylinder 2 through which the stereotype plate is, before boring and trimming, inserted, and after such boringand trimming, withdrawn.

In the arrangements shown in Figs. 1, 3,

4, 5, 6 and 7, the rollers 26 are capable of being raised and lowered into and from a position in which theirperipheries are substantially in line with the internal periphery of the corresponding parts of the boring cylinder 2, and when they are in this position, the stereotype plates can be readily rolled cndwise over them into and out of the boring cylinder. The rollers 26 are raised and lowered by any convenient means such as lever and link mechanism which latter, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, may be connected with the clutch controlling mechanism. In the arrangement illustrated in these figures, 27 is the fixed part, and 28 the movable part, of the clutch, which latter, in the condition represented in Figs. 1 and 5, is open. This clutch can be opened and closed by a clutch lever 29 adapted to turn about" a fixed pivot 30 and capable of'being locked in its open position by a locking bolt 31 pivoted to a grip 32 which is itself pivoted to the clutch lever 29. Ihe relatively fixed part 27 of the clutch is fast on a pinion shaft 33 capable of rotating in a fixed bearing 34, the-pinion engaging with the toothed wheel 35 which, in turn, transmits motion to the boring cylinder 2. The lower end of the clutch lever 29 is pivoted to one end of a link 36 whose other end is pivoted to a lever arm 37 fast to a rocking shaft 38 on which is also secured an arm 39 which is in pivotal connection with a vertical stem 40 carrying at its upper end the before-mentioned two rollers 26.

It will thus be seen that when the clutch lever 29 is locked in the position in which it is shown in the drawings, the rollers 26 are by the same means locked in their upper position at which time their upper surfaces are in position to guide the stereotype plates when the latter are being inserted into and withdrawn from the boring cylinder. When the clutch lever 29 is moved, say, rightward, to close the clutch for rotating the boring cylinder 2 and advancing the boring tool, as when the stereotype plate is to be bored and trimmed, the rollers 26 are moved into their lower position so as to be out of cont-act with the rotating riser of such stereotype plate which riser at that time is projecting from the adjacent end of the boring cylinder 2.

Instead of the clutch 27, 28, being, as heretofore and as illustrated in Fig. 1, arranged on the shaft 41 which feeds the boring tool 42see Fig. 3-through the stereotype plate, it is, according to this invention, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, provided on the main driving shaft 43 of the machine, so that, when the said clutch is opened, no part of the machine other than that shaft shall be in operation, and when this clutch is closed, the boring cylinder 2 will be rotated and the boring tool 42 be advanced longitudinally through the stereotype plate then contained within the said cylinder. Instead of the before mentioned rollers 26 being raised and lowered through the clutch-controlling mechanism as last described, they may be raised and lowered by hand or by treadle. In one such arrangement as illustrated for example in Fig. 6, the rollers 26 are supported on the top of a vertically movable rod 40 (as in the previously described example) whose lower end is pivoted to a hand lever 44 which is capable of being turned about a stationary pivot 45 and which can be locked in either of its two terminal positions by a suitable lever grip 46, as shown in Fig. 6, or by any other equivalent means. In another arrangement,

as shown forexample in Fig. 7, the rollers 26 can be raised by a treadle 47 and lowered by a spring 48. In all of these arrangements provision may be made for rotating the rollers 26', when they are in their lower position so that they can then serve for conveying out of the machine, the riser which falls on to them after it has been detached from the stereotype plate then within the boring cylinder 2. For this purpose, as shown in Fig. 7, the rollers 26 may have secured on their shaft 49, a spur wheel 50 which, when the said rollers are in their lower position, gears with a constantly rotating spur wheel 51.

In a further arrangement as illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, there are preferably two pairs of rollers 26 standing permanently at a height suitable for guiding the stereotype plates into and out of the boring cylinder 2, these rollers are mounted on a carriage 52 which is capable of being moved along a horizontal track 53 to effect or facilitate the conveyance of the stereotype plate into and out of the boring cylinder 2. Screws 54 and lock nuts 55, the latter engaging on opposite sides of bosses 56 in the carriage 52, or other means, are provided for effecting the initial vertical adjustments of the rollers 26.

57, Fig. 1, is the tool or cutter by which the riser is severed from the stereotype plate 19, but neither this nor the mechanism for operating it, forms any part of the present invention, and therefore no special description thereof appears in this specification.

Having described our invention, we declare that what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a machine for boring and trimming tubular stereotype plates, devices adapted to support the plates during their longitudinal movement into and out of their boring position, and means whereby the said devices can be moved into or out of plate'supporting position. i

2. In a machine for boring and trimming tubular stereotype plates, rollers adapted to support the plates during their longitudinal movement into and out of their boring position, and means whereby the said rollers can be moved into and out of plate-supporting position.

3. In a machine for boring and trimming tubular stereotype plates, the combination with rollers adapted to support the plates during their longitudinal movement into and out of their boring position, and means whereby the said rollers can be moved into or out of plate-supporting position; with means whereby the rollers are rotated when out of platesupporting position.

4. In a machine for boring and trimming tubular stereotype plates, the combination with rollers adapted to support the plates during their longitudinal movement into and out of their boring position, of means whereby the said rollers can be raised up to and lowered out of their plate-supporting position.

5. In a machine for boring and trimming tubular stereotype plates, the combination with rollers adapted to support the plates during their longitudinal movement into and out of their boring position, and means whereby the said rollers can be raised up to and lowered out of their plate-supporting position, of means whereby when those rollers are in their lower position they will be rotated.

6. In a machine for boring and trimming tubular stereotype plates, the combination with rollers adapted to support the plates during their longitudinal movement into and out of their boring position, and means whereby the said rollers can be raised up to and lowered out of their plate-supporting position, of a gear wheel operatively fast to the said rollers and a second gear wheel with which the first-named one meshes only when in its lower position and means operative to rotate the second of such gear wheels.

7. In a machine for boring and trimming vice, rollers adapted to support the plates during their longitudinal movement into and out of their boring position, and devices operatively connecting the clutch device and rollers in such manner that the act of opening and closing the clutch automatically efi fects the raising and lowering of the rollers. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS ROBERT GILLETT PARKER. WILLIAM EDWARD BENNISON. lVitnesses:

MALCOLM SMETHURST, Enron!) SIMPSON MosELEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, N

Washington, D. G. i 

